Contents

1.What is Hitsumabushi?

2.Eating procedure

3.About Unagi ( eel )

4.Sumamry

Nowadays, Japanese Unagi( eel ) became popular worldwide.

I will introduce you one of unique style of eating Unagi in Nagoya.1.What is Hitsumabushi?

Hitsumabushi is a local eel dish, which is said to have originated at the end of Meiji Era as waitresses dished up each serving of chopped grilled eel on rice from a large wooden tub for keeping cooked rice into individual bowls of customers in a tatami-mat room.

２.Eating procedure

The eating procedure is also unique. To begin with, the whole eel dish is divided into four portions.

You put the first portion into your bowl and enjoy as it is; then you put the second helping in and put on some condiments (wasabi horseradish, nori dried laver, mitsuba trefoil, etc.) to your taste.

The basic spice combination is chopped green onions, grated wasabi, and nori seaweed sheet cut into pieces, which go well with grilled eel.

Enjoy the changes in tastes. Then you have the third portion in the same manner as the second portion plus green tea or broth poured over it, like o-chazuke soup with rice. And, finally, you can enjoy the remaining portion repeating one of the three methods you liked best!

3. Unagi

Unagi is served as part of unadon, a donburi dish with sliced eel served on a bed of rice.

Unagi is high in protein, vitamin A, and calcium.

Specialist unagi restaurants are common in Japan, and commonly have signs showing the word unagi with hiragana う (transliterated u), which is the first letter of the wordunagi. Lake Hamana in Hamamatsu city, Shizuoka prefecture is considered to be the home of the highest quality unagi.

Unagi is often eaten during the hot summers in Japan.

There is even a special day for eating unagi, the midsummer day of the Ox (doyo no ushi no hi).

4. Summary

Hitsumabushi is a local eel dish, which is said to have originated at the end of Meiji Era as waitresses dished up each serving of chopped grilled eel on rice from a large wooden tub for keeping cooked rice into individual bowls of customers in a tatami-mat room.The eating procedure is also unique. To begin with, the whole eel dish is divided into four portions.

Unagi is served as part of unadon, a donburi dish with sliced eel served on a bed of rice.